"Demon God..." Tsubaki muttered, flinching as pain suddenly lanced through her head. Kousuke gently caressed her cheek, lessening it a little. A faint blush crept in despite herself.
"Why did they summon you if their world already had gods? You ntioned receiving their blessings," she asked.
"That was my exact question. But as it turned out—there was only the Demon God."
"!!!"
"Unsatisfied with the state of the world, the Demon God used its divine will to bestow upon humanity an ancient summoning spell. But unbeknownst to them, the sa god they believed in… was also the one that brought their destruction."
"The blessings were just a bluff. No—more accurately, they were a gift from the world itself. It could no longer bear to be a plaything for madness."
"When the Demon God appeared before , claiming it could send back to Earth… I punched it."
"I knew from the mont I was summoned, it was a one-way trip. Even the blessings were an error, sothing that surprised the Demon God itself. The summoning spell was designed to call an ordinary human from Earth—its true purpose was to give humanity false hope."
"That bastard… it simply enjoyed toying with people."
"If you knew it was a one-way trip, then how did you return?"
"I did my research," he said with a sigh. "The Demon God probably thought no one could analyze the summoning spell, but I reverse-engineered it. Instead of kidnapping people from Earth, I repurposed it to return them to their rightful place. That was before I went to defeat the Demon King—just another puppet under its control."
"When I realized the truth… all that suffering I endured felt almost aningless. So my goal changed. Once I had a way back, I wanted to repay the people who had taken care of —by removing the parasite leeching off their world."
"It was strong. Insanely so. But between the two of us, there was one key difference that led to its downfall—arrogance. It underestimated … and fell into a trap so obvious, even a fool wouldn't have stepped into it."
"When it was all over, I didn't expect the spell to actually work. I only hoped that, if it did, I'd return to Earth. And I was surprised to find that only a year had passed here."
"Only?" She asked with her eyebrows raised.
"I was in that world for ten years."
"What?! But you look no different than the day you disappeared!"
"That's the one error I overlooked when reverse-engineering the spell. I only thought about returning ho. But… everything happens for a reason," he said, gazing at her before smiling. "And eventually, fate led back to you."
"I... I also..." Tsubaki felt overwheld. She hadn't expected the truth to be this complicated. She thought she had seen it all standing beside Sona since becoming a devil—but clearly, she was still just a frog in a well.
And yet, that only deepened her guilt. Now that he was being honest with her… how could she stay silent? She wanted to confess that she wasn't human, but just as she opened her mouth, he placed a finger gently on her lips, a wry smile on his face.
"You're going to tell you're a devil, aren't you?"
"!!!"
"I knew from the very beginning," Kousuke said as he explained how his suspicions about Issei led him to the Gremory Peerage. With so many examples right in front of him, it wasn't hard to guess. "But that doesn't change how I feel about you. In fact… it only strengthens it."
"Let tell you a little secret," he added with a smirk. Then he leaned in and whispered in her ear, "I have vast stamina~"
Tsubaki didn't need to think too hard about what he ant. Her cheeks lit up in a brilliant blush, her thoughts turning into a flustered ss. She realized then—her worries had been aningless. He had known from the start.
"Then what kind of blessing did you receive from that world? It can't be sothing simple," she asked once she'd cald down.
"Enchanter. I can enchant effects into properties—like turning a normal necklace into a life signal, so I'll know if the wearer is ever in danger."
He gently touched the white necklace she wore around her neck—the one he had given her. She was touched. She hadn't realized he'd put so much thought into the gift. Though that was only part of it—there were other hidden effects he didn't ntion.
But the trust between them no longer teetered on a tightrope. It was grounded. Cented. Strengthening their bond even further.
"Then, are you ready to return? If it's not too late, we could still enjoy the sunset," he said, standing and offering his hand.
She looked around, puzzled. "How?"
He smiled, pulling out a small angel figurine. Crushing it in his palm, they vanished in an instant.
But just then—two voices rang out from the cave.
"Ugh, what the hell was that?! A giant octopus just showed up out of nowhere!"
"I don't know either, but I've got a feeling it was a trap set by soone. Maybe it was—huh?"
Sona stood frozen, srized for a mont by the field of colorful flowers. Then her expression sharpened. She sensed nothing within a five-ter radius. But they had just been here!
"They're gone!"
"What did you say?! You an I got soaked for nothing?!"
"No… it looks like we just barely missed them," Sona muttered. Her nose twitched. She picked up the scent of Tsubaki's perfu. She knelt and touched the spot they had just occupied—it was still warm.
"...But where did they go? It's like they just vanished."
...
anwhile, near the shore…
"Teleportation? You can do that?"
"Well, sothing like that," Kousuke replied with a small smile. He blew the crushed remains of the figurine into the wind. In the distance, he spotted a toy octopus floating on the lake's surface.
'So they dealt with it easily,' he thought.
"The sunset's already passed," Tsubaki said softly, gazing at the darkening sky. Then she turned to et his eyes with a gentle smile of her own.
"So… where are we going next?"
"A special place for couples," he said with a knowing smile.
Her eyes widened. "Y-You don't an… but isn't it too early for that?! I an, it's not like I'm looking forward to it—no! That's not what I ant to say!"
"I'm joking. We're going back to Kuoh."
"...Oh."
"Huh? Are you disappointed?"
"No, I'm not!"
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